Alright, ladies," Elora began, smiling warmly. "Today, we're giving the gardens a little extra attention. I want the roses to look perfect, so let's trim back any of the overgrown branches and make sure the blooms are bright and full. Place the lilies along the path to the fountain and arrange the daisies near the archway." One of the younger serving girls, a bright-eyed girl named Mariella, leaned. Shall we put lavender at the entrance, my lady? It is blooming so beautifully this season." Elora nodded. "Yes, that is a fine suggestion, Mariella. Lavender at the entrance will be just lovely. And take care not to cut it back too drastically! We want the effect to be natural, not uniform. In an instant, the other maids got to work, pruning carefully and arranging as she had instructed. As she worked, one clump of daffodils caught her eye; it needed adjusting. She knelt down and moved them with her fingers, feeling the dirt and petals. Then suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed o
At sunset, Alison came back to the castle. Everything glittered, and it was as though the whole castle had been polished and scrubbed till it shone.She frowned, looking around her. “Who has done all of this?” The castle had never been like this, even when the Lycan King prepared formal gatherings."Elsie," Alison said shortly, crossing her arms. "Who decided to redecorate the castle? And where are these flowers from?" SirElsie looked up, for a moment startled. "Oh, good evening, Miss Alison. Lady Elora wanted everything freshened up, so she spent the morning with us. She even arranged the flowers herself," Elsie replied with a small, admiring smile.Alison's face soured. "And Lady Elora did all this?" The scoff came out before she could stop it. "And what's with this 'Lady Elora' nonsense?" Elsie's eyes darted about nervously, her fingers fidgeting with the flowers. "Well… it's just that the rest of the staff have started calling her 'Luna,'" she replied hesitantly. "We think it's
JASONIt's been a few days since we got the mysterious visit from that stranger. Going through the details of the visit, I couldn't help but wonder where a being like that had come from. The wrongness of its existence both troubled and fascinated me at the same time. As I sat my desk working through my papers with Maya lounging on the couch, I couldn't help but go through the details of our discussion.***By the time we reached the living room, we noticed a decent number of our workser staring curiously into the living room with an almost untamed curiousity in their eyes. I figured about the reason for this when I arrived at the living room and saw my supposed visitor. It was quite a strange feeling looking at whoever it was. They seemed like something out of a comic book or movie.Dressed in a flowing black robe and wearing a weird hat that seemed to obscure their face somehow, they looked like the harbinger of death if it had a physical form.What concerned me though, was the fa
JASONI was losing.It didn't exactly come as a surprise but it still didn't feel good. I would like to think I had grown from the last time I had a spar with either James or Jack. They had both outclassed me that time and in retrospect, showed me a lot of flaws in my fighting style. Flaws that I had made sure to correct and improve upon. In my opinion, my style was almost flawless.And yet, I am being outclassed by the same margin as last time. I had studied both James and Jack extensively as they're both hailed as the strongest and second strongest in the region. I have experienced their might quite well enough to know that their titles were well earned.I put so much effort into studying them that I was sure I knew their combat prowess better than anyone else.I thought I had created enough countermeasures against them. Yet, I had no answer to Jack's attacks. I could take it, block and even evade some, but he was dragging me into a battle of attrition. A fundamental flaw in my b
JACKA lovely day as always.The sounds of my workers... and occasional lovers greeting me as I strolled around the hallways, waving whenever needed. It was just a normal routine part of my day and I make sure to take it seriously. Though a very limited part, it brings me closer to my people."Good day, Alpha," and exceptionally beautiful woman greeted with a heavenly smile adorning her face. An unfamiliar face."And who is this beautiful damsel?" I asked with my smile ever present. Charming as ever. "Sarah, my lord," she replied. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Alpha.""A new worker, I presume?" I asked as I took her hand and led her down the hallway."Yes, sir," she nodded. "I've been applying for a position in the palace for a while now.""Who dares to not employ a beauty like you?" I asked with a frown. "Everyone knows I love beautiful people.""I don't know, my lord," she smiled. "But it's great to finally meet you.""And me, you," I nodded as I kissed her hand.We soon reached
JACKThere was silence in the hallway as we both stared at each other in tense silence, or at least I assume so."You seem quite perceptive, Alpha Jack," he chuckled. "It would be quite tough to infer that when you are quite the joker.""I do my best to keep a lively atmosphere," I shrugged. There was some more minutes of silence before the air in front of me finally rippled and his figure appeared, showing itself from beneath the covers of his powers."You are quite the sight," I chuckled. "An ugly one.""I don't want a fight with you, Alpha Jack," he said."Why?' I asked. "Are you scared? You didn't seem inclined to propose a peace treaty with all the other packs you trampled on, did you?" "It shows how much I respect you," he said, a hint of a smile in his voice. "Not fear.""And I'm supposed to be honoured?" I asked. "Do you think you are gonna have an easy time dispatching of me because I've been tagged weaker than James?" "Aren't you?" He asked."Of course, I am," I laughed.
MASONMy eyes stung as the breeze rushed by me. The rustling of the leaves of the trees around and the satisfying sounds of twigs being crushed under my feet was exhilarating as the sound of the bellowing winds assaulted my ears. 'It is definitely going to rain today," I thought as I ran through the woods at mind-blowing speed. All I could feel was the resistance of the wind as it violently beat against my advancing frame, almost desperate to slow me down as I tore through its resistance effortlessly, the sting from a few scratches on my face and body as I ran in this dense forest shirtless and without a care in the world for the leaves and thin branches that cut into my skin, leaving subtle marks here and there. These were in turn assaulted by the winds making it sting just a little more. That wasn't enough to stop me though.Running at night has been my tradition for longer than I can remember. It was imposed on by my father but has since become my favourite hubby. "A true Alpha
JAKEI could feel it. This painful feeling that my heart is being crushed, like my lungs are constricted and a feeling of dread sending cold shivers down my spine. My Alpha is in danger.It's been a while since I felt this way. There is almost no one who exists in the present that is capable of causing that brute any harm. He is the strongest werewolf I've ever known. Stronger than even my father and his. It is literally impossible that he is hurt.But I can't ignore this feeling.I kept running as the wind smacked violently on my face and droplets of the intensifying rain pelted on my skin with enough force to almost cause me pain.I could somewhat tell the direction he is in from our connection and I could perceive his superior scent in the woods, but in this storm, it was harder to trust my scent."Goddamn rain!" I cursed. "Why on Earth is it falling at the worst possible time?"I hastened my pace in the general direction I could feel his scent a little more, and I ended up turni
CAYDENI gave them a puzzled look as the all stares at me. "What?" I asked. "How do you expect me to lure him out? The guy hates my guts. He's basically starting this whole war simply to ruin me.""That's exactly the reason why you are the best person to lure him out," Marcy replied. "He seems to be holding a deep and terrible grudge for you. All you have to do is tug on that grudge.""What?" I asked, confused. "I don't understand.""I'll be straightforward with it then," she said. "We can't win against that guy when his brain and mind are functioning properly. He is incredibly smart, cunning and overly cautious. He might make a mistake in battle but not one that we can exploit. He might also have a vast army by now considering all of the deaths he's caused. He's even had time to turn them into his minions. There's no telling the amount of abominations he can unleash on us.""I still don't understand what any of that has to do with me and how it helps me anger him," I replied, lookin
CAYDENI stared at Marcy, at her beautiful eyes as they stare back at me."You're right," I nodded. "He must going around and talking to anyone he believes would be strong enough to be a threat to him.""He won't be simply convincing them either," Rafael added. "He threated me with death when I refused. I believe the others would be getting the same offer I got, both the good and bad aspects of it. He gave up on killing me for reasons I wouldn't disclose but I don't think the others will get that luxury."We pondered it for a bit and Marcy started to speak."What do yo-""Switch," Raphael suddenly said, looking beside him. It took me a while to figure out that he was talking to one of the women he was sleeping with. "Oh, and pass the gag as well. I'm still having a meeting.""Oh, so you remember you are in a meeting," I hissed. "Couldn't you do this at a more convenient time?""You know me, Cayden," Rafael smiled. "I'm actually showing a bit of decorum here. At least give me some cred
MARCYFor goddess' sake, these two would never stop bickering. I couldn't help but sigh at Cayden's blatant response to her name, obviously angering Beatrice who stared back at him with resolute indignation."And I couldn't be bothered that this bastard is an Alpha," she retorted."Okay, that's it," I said. "Beatrice, you would have to excuse us for this conversation.""The Beta too," he added as Alex silently perused the documents, choosing not to involve himself in their conflict.Ever since Cayden accepted Bella back for the sake of my children, Alex had developed a form of respect for him. He still hates him with a passion but just like me, he has learned to tolerate him as well."I don't think it would be a good idea for Alex to not be present," I replied. "If this is about nobody, that is. He's been doing a lot of research on him and the kind of creature he is. I believe he would have some important information to share."Cayden seemed... displeased?It might just be my imagina
CAYDEN"What was I thinking?" I chastised myself under my breath, mentally facepalming at my impulsiveness. "This is all Jace's fault. That bastard."Jace's words had plagued me after he said them. He wasn't wrong. All I needed to do hear from Marcy was call her. It was as easy as that.But that was incredibly tough for me. I don't think I've spoken to Marcy since we started walking together. In fact, we've never talked on the phone from the day I knew her. Calling her now would not only put of character, but it'll be awkward as well.I couldn't bring myself to do it.I also couldn't deny the fact that I missed her presence in the pack. Hateful as she may be of me, she brightened up my mood when I saw her. This only increased after our imprisonment in the Bloodless Pack. She had grown to tolerate me and at least give me a chance to talk to her without it divulging into an argument about my horribly stupid past mistakes. She even allowed me interact with her children who strangely ca
MARCYHectic.That's the only word that best describes my return to the pack.It turns out having a competent Beta cam only make your work harder when you leave for a long time. Alex handled everything and being the man that he is, decided that there are some decisions that require my exclusive input and they were too sensitive to be discussed while I was in the Blue Heart Pack because of the possibility that we were being watched.That has only served to complicate my life more now that I'm back as I had a plethora of meetings, hours of perusing documents and even more hours of signing such that my wrists hurt.Knowing I would be going back, Alex was making sure I did all that could be done before leaving.I groaned audibly as I read through yet another document. Alex is in the chair opposite me as he silently read and sorted out other documents. We've been at this for five hours now and I am both exhausted and bored.A knock on the door attracts our attention and I hope against all
CAYDEN"Jace!" I yelled as I rummaged through my office in search of a particular document. "Jace!"Jace calmly walked in on my second call with his usual expressionless face. "You know, you could easily call me through the mind link. You didn't have to yell.""I do what I want," I retorted as I continued to rummage through my shelves while Jace stood there calmly, watching me.After a few minutes of fruitless effort, I turned to look at him. "Well?" I said with annoyance in my eyes. "Help me out, will you?!""You still haven't told me what you are searching for, Alpha?" He replied calmly. "I can't find it if I don't know it.""The contract we drew up with the Nightwalker Pack. I want that contract," I replied as I continued to check through numerous files and documents."May I ask why?" I looked up at him again, this time my annoyance turning into anger."No, you may not! Just fucking find it!""That's why I said you could have just asked me through the mind link instead of going
CAYDENJace's words bit deep. All I could do was stare at my Beta as he quite calmly admonished me for my foolish mistakes. I had no words for him as I stared at my table, unable to even look at his face."Well, who am I to chastise you," he shrugged. "I don't know what it's like to be Alpha and I've never ruled a pack. You probably were desperate at the time and I can understand that desperate times call for desperate solutions.""Jace," I sighed after a few seconds of silence between us. "What do I do to get out of this mess?"He didn't reply for a few minutes before taking a deep breath."Solve it."I finally got the courage to look up at him."What?" "First of all, get that weird sorry look off your face," he said. "An Alpha must never falter. You know that better than I do."I continued to stare at him, puzzled."I've never been in your situation before because I've never had to kill a woman I impregnated, so I don't have a set path I could advise you to follow," he continued. "
yCAYDENI tapped my fingers restlessly on my table as I sat at on my office. The atmosphere is quite relaxing with rays of sunlight illuminating the office through the window and a tranquil silence that would easily put anyone to sleep.Yet, I was restless.The door opened and Alex walked in distractedly as he eyes were glued to a few papers in his hand."Good day, Alpha," he greeted, still distracted. "You called for me.""Yeah," I nodded. "Take a seat."He promptly obeyed but still didn't look up from his papers. They seem to have him entranced."Eyes up ahead, Jace," I said as I tapped louder on the table to get his attention.He finally looked up at me with a question in his eyes, obviously displeased for having to look up from whatever he is reading."What do you have there?" I asked out of curiosity."Documents of our expenditure and a few other observations the scouts and administrators reported about the pack. Apparently, we might have neglected quite a bit in the past year."
MARCYThe atmosphere was tense in my office. I was on high alert and I scanned my surroundings carefully for any sign of his invisible minions. He knew they couldn't escape my eye so he brought none. Even still, I wasn't exactly at peace around him.There was something inherently wrong about his entire presence. Except for the obvious scent of death surrounding him, I can feel there was something else but can't quite place my hand on it.I don't want to admit it but he gives me the chills."A warning, huh?" I asked coldly as I tapped my fingers on my desk. "Are you gonna threaten me in my own pack?""I wouldn't be dumb enough to do that, would I?" He chuckled. "I'm hoping not," I replied."So, if I do warn or threaten you," he said as he leaned forward. "It's because I am confident that I can."I stared at him for a few minutes and leaned forward as well."Then you must be the most foolish being on earth, whatever you are."He chuckled for a bit and then leaned back."I like you, Al